It is time to take your money out of the bank. The financial crisis will get you, or at least affect you, one way or the other. And we´re all going down.
The other day I was at the library sharing a small study room with two strangers, an elderly lady and a middle-aged man. Suddenly the man gasped out loud and exclaimed: “I can’t believe this!”. He called on us, pointed at his computer and said: “Look here guys. (Very unusual behavior in Sweden where you are considered crazy if you talk to strangers.) I have been studying the Swedish krona for the past few days. Compared to the euro the value is going down drastically. This is a disaster. LOOK!”
The old lady nodded and said: “I know. Everything is going downhill. It is just like it was before WW2.” Then they looked at me, which was unfortunate because I was smiling, enjoying a critical discourse analysis of their conversation in relation to the financial crises. For a second I was contemplating if I should explain the theory to them, but they seemed upset (holding their breath waiting for me to say something) so I didn´t want to disappoint them. Instead I nodded and said: “Yes, it is all going down.” They sighed, relieved and satisfied.
Normative behavior is still a social force to be counted on. But is it genuine?